An Edge Hill accountancy student has not only graduated today as top of her class but also secured a job with one of the “Big Four” global accountancy firms – Ernst and Young.
Autumn Murphy (21) from Chorley has been awarded the Edge Hill Liverpool Society of Chartered Accountants (LSCA) prize during her ceremony today (19 July 2018).
She received a certificate and £100 prize from LSCA to acknowledge being the most outstanding third year student on the BSc (Hons) Accountancy programme.
“I was shocked at first when I heard I’d won the prize. There are some very talented students graduating this year who equally deserve to be recognised for all of their hard work and efforts this year,” said Autumn.
“The course was really interesting and covered a wide range of topics. I feel the biggest benefit is the nine exemptions form the professional qualifications which gives students a head start in the professional exams.
“Throughout my studies the lecturers were really helpful and always had the time to further explain anything I had questions on. The Young Enterprise module provided the opportunity to work with students across the department; I found this to be a really interesting and challenging module that helped put my skills into context.”
Autumn originally discovered accountancy while studying a module in her Travel and Tourism BTEC course at Cardinal Newman College in Preston. “The aim of the module was to create a business plan and the accounts. Alongside this, I was enjoying my A level maths so accountancy just seemed like a natural step.”
Autumn has just moved to the Channel Islands after securing a role as a Tax Associate with Ernst and Young (EY), which is one of the world’s largest professional services firms. She believes this wouldn’t have been possible without the opportunities she got at Edge Hill.
She said: “Before starting University I was a very quiet and reserved person. Edge Hill provided me with the opportunity to meet so many amazing people which helped me to build my confidence and social skills.
“When I first started I was extremely worried about my written and reading skills. I have Dyslexia which means it can take me a little longer to read than average. I brought this up with one of the lecturers, who reassured me that it would be ok, provided access to lecture slides before the lecture and made the time to meet with me if I had any problems.
“I also took a placement year in 2016/17 at Triumph Motorcycles. This was an amazing opportunity and I learnt a lot from it. I can honestly say without these opportunities I would not have been able to secure a job at EY.”
She also has some advice for others at Edge Hill.
“I would say in general just believe in yourself, if you want to graduate with a first class degree you can do it. It doesn’t matter who you are or the grades you have achieved so far as long as you believe in yourself, or surround yourself in people who believe in you even when you don’t you can achieve whatever you want.
“I have always felt from a young age that having a learning disability would limit what I could achieve, but in fact it’s the complete opposite. If anything it has made me more determined to achieve more and push myself more. I would say as long as you’re willing to put the effort in then there are no limits to what you can achieve.”
Find out more about studying accountancy here.
Kim’s academic research identifies issues which can positively inform retailing and has worked closely with the Economic and Social Research Council on this agenda. Her personal research focuses on customer engagement in retail.
“In our first review in 2013 we argued that there is no point clinging to a sentimental vision of the past and that we need to start planning for a bold new world. This is still very much the case and we need to look to the future,” he said. “What we have seen during our research this time is that some very good initiatives have been put in place up and down the country over the last five years. These need to be celebrated, but progress is too slow and the retail landscape is rapidly changing.
Charlotte McKeown, Isatu Manka, Paige Stevens, Rachel Sargent, Ryan Johnson, and Kayleigh Glynn took part in a marketing simulation exercise, Markstrat 2018, which allows students control of virtual corporation. They, along with 115 other students from 10 countries, had to make decisions in marketing, finance, and research and development areas for ‘their’ company.